Bikepaths are an integral part of the bicycle transportation network,
and these reports are provided to encourage their use by bicyclists who
might otherwise not venture out in the snow, and to encourage their proper
maintenance (which includes snow plowing) by the responsible agencies
given in bold type below. Paths with significant foot traffic
become unskiable within a day, and remain a mess for everyone if they
are not plowed while the snow is still soft.

Another thin snowfall fell on Boston on the morning of Wednesday, January
28. Like last week's snow, it was just enough that sidewalks had to be
shovelled. It drifted a bit, actually clearing the land along some paths
and drifting them over. The City of Boston and the Town of Brookline did
a pretty good job, not bare pavement, but very ridable.
The Division of Conservation and Recreation seems to have gotten to the
Charles River Path, but only after it was so packed down by foot and
bicycle traffic that they couldn't scrape it clear.

Please send updates and reports on the conditions of other paths in
Massachusetts to Doug Mink
dmink@massbike.org.

Arnold Arboretum1.5 miles of park roads which are mostly closed to automobile traffic
with no intersectionsBoston Parks and Harvard University

The park roads were plowed, but not to pavement. They actually dropped
a bit of sand on the sharp turns north and south of Bussey Hill. The
roads took days to clear; the road between Bussey Brook and Hemlock Hill
was still icy over a week after it snowed

This path was plowed, but not to pavement. There was little enough snow
that it was easy to ride right through the bollards at Pine Bank where
the path was unplowed. Salt and sand remained from the last storm, so
the path was always ridable. By the end of the week, there was a lot of
bare pavement.

Olmsted Park Paths3/4-mile of mostly bike/ped-separated paths built over Riverdale Road,
across Leverett Pond from the Jamaicaway.Brookline Park Department

This path was plowed, but not to bare pavement. It was rideable for
its full length. By the end of the week, it was mostly bare pavement.

B.U. Bridge

The sidewalks were mostly plowed by Wednesday evening, but the Cambridge
approach remained icy for over a week.

Charles River BikepathNarrow, shared bike-ped path with few intersectionsDepartment of Conservation and Recreation,
Division of Urban Parks and Recreation

This path was not plowed until after the snow got packed down by path users.
It was rideable, but the shaded areas near the B.U. Bridge remained icy for
over a week. Let the DCR know that they should plow the path immediately
after a storm on
their feedback web page.